May 13, 2006

Yes, the Phillies (and Twins) Are Good

I've been saying since I arrived in Philly last August (and really, for several months before that) that the Phillies are in fact a skillful, exciting baseball team that deserves the support of the city's fans. However, most people in town have chosen to either boo the team into oblivion or simply ignore them for most of that time. But that's finally starting to change, due to new GM Pat Gillick, a recent 9-game winning streak, the recent call-up of stud pitching prospect Cole Hamels, and Aaron Rowand's amazing center field catch the other night in which he ran into the wall and broke his nose. The Phils are now 2 games out of first in the NL East, behind the Mets.

The Phils finally have some pitching, with Hamels coming up, rookie Gavin Floyd off to a decent start, and Tom Gordon nearly unhittable in the bullpen. But some of the fans, of course, still aren't happy. All I've heard on talk radio lately is how much outfielders Bobby Abreu and Pat Burrell "don't play the game right," "don't hustle," and "need to learn something from Rowand." Guess what, guys- hustle isn't everything. Burrell drove in 117 runs last year- same as Albert Pujols- and Abreu got over 100 RBIs too, while leading the team in OPS. Rowand may "hustle" more in the field, but Abreu and Burrell are both significantly better players.